Astros playing marathon games this postseason

Astros fans celebrate a solo home run by Houston Astros George Springer (4) during the third inning of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, in Houston.

Photo: Brett Coomer/Staff photographer

In the beginning, baseball was played in broad daylight. Skies were bright, hearts were light, and all was well.

Then came primetime games. Lights were bright, television ratings were robust, and all was well.

And now, especially in October, we have early morning baseball. Eyes grow bleary, attention spans wander, but TV ratings remain robust and all is ...

Well, that depends.

Major League Baseball remains committed to reducing game lengths, but events continue to conspire against it, particularly as the playoffs grind slowly, albeit dramatically, toward midnight and, occasionally, beyond.

Astros games during the regular season averaged three hours and four minutes, which ranked 14th among the 30 MLB teams. During the playoffs, however, Houston's shortest game has been 3:12 in Game 2 of the Division Series, and the longest was 4:33 for Wednesday's interminable but riveting Game 4 against the Red Sox.

Entering Game 5, Astros playoff games this year are averaging 3:52, a considerable boost from last year, when none of the seven ALCS games against the Yankees went longer than 3:37.

Two World Series games last year, both of them extra inning thrillers in Games 2 and 5, topped four hours. Game 1, in which Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers limited the Astros to three hits with 11 strikeouts through seven innings, required a 20th century-like 2:28.

The Red Sox and Dodgers tied for first place among MLB teams for longest regular-season games, both at 3:13. The Yankees, who played the Red Sox in the Division Series, were third at 3:11. The four Red Sox-Yankees division series games ranged in time from 3:28 to 3:41.

Technology has frequently reared its head during this season, from the dugout surveillance kerfuffle to the stroke of bad luck that prevented TBS from getting a clear shot on whether the fan called for interference to wipe out a potential Jose Altuve home run Wednesday did in fact cross the boundary into the field of play.

As teams become more cautious, said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, they play more slowly.

"We utilize multiple signs with nobody on base. Other teams do that as well," Hinch said. "So it's very complicated."

MLB's pace of play initiatives this year stopped short of a pitch clock and a time clock between batters but included a limit of six mound visits per nine innings and between-inning breaks ranging from 2:05 for locally televised games to 2:55 for the postseason.

It also did away with the intentional walk in 2017, allowing players to take first base without the pitcher having to throw four pitches.

Astros starter Justin Verlander suggested this week that MLB could save up to 20 minutes a game by embracing wireless technology similar to the helmet microphones used by the NFL. His suggestions, however, were treated in a fashion that he didn't expect.

"I brought it to the Players Association and wanted them to mention it to MLB when this conversation was going on. And they said they would," Verlander said.

"I don't know what happened at that point. I know that we got limited mound visits out of this. I don't know what happened after that."

Red Sox manager Alex Cora also likes the idea of using technology to facilitate conversations between players and coaches and the manager.

"They do it in college, don't they? I think the ACC does that. Like the pitching coach to the catcher," he said. "At least that communication, because it used to be the whole sign stuff, then the catcher would have to relay the sign.

"I don't want to say sooner rather than later it's going to happen, but it might happen."

Viewers don't seem daunted thus far by the late nights. Wednesday's Game 4, which lasted past midnight in Houston, was the most-watched program of the night on cable television with a 4.7 Nielsen rating. Ratings for the Astros and Red Sox are up 50 percent from 2016, the last time TBS aired the ALCS.

Boston averaged a 20.5 Nielsen rating while Houston averaged 19.9, ensuring that close to a million people in each market were watching the telecast.

David Barron reports on sports media, college football and Olympic sports for the Houston Chronicle. He joined the Houston Chronicle in 1990 after stints at the Dallas bureau of United Press International (1984-90), the Waco Tribune-Herald (1978-84) and the Tyler Morning Telegraph (1975-78). He has been a contributor to Dave Campbell's Texas Football since 1980, serving as high school editor from 1984 through 2000 and as Managing Editor from 1990 through 2004. A native of Tyler, he is a graduate of John Tyler High School, Tyler Junior College and The University of Texas at Austin.

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